Spanish CHOD sworn in as ex-officio member of the Council of State

• Admiral general López Calderón has been sponsored by Counsellors Alberto Aza and Adela Asua

Chief of Defence Staff, admiral general Teodoro López Calderón, has sworn in today at the Palacio de los Consejos (Madrid), as a ex-officio member of the Council of State.

CHOD has been sponsored and introduced to the Council by Alberto Aza Arias, with an extensive career within the diplomatic service and in His Majesty the King's Office, and Adela Asua Batarrita, a jurist and university professor and Justice of the Constitutional Court from 2011 to 2017.

In his remarks, the Spanish CHOD expressed that he had taken up the legacy of his predecessors, "a legacy of responsibility and dedication", and emphasised that this appointment implies "an important challenge" but, above all, "a true honour and a real privilege".

On the other hand, Council of State's Chairwoman, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, said that it was "a source of pride and peace of mind" to have had upright men like the Admiral, commanding the Spanish Navy and "to have him now at the head of the Armed Forces' Defence Staff.

The Council of State is established by the 1978 Spanish Constitution as the supreme advisory body of the government. Its function is, therefore, exclusively advising and this is expressed in the elaboration of opinions.